# Malcolm Wilson (rally driver)

Malcolm Irving Wilson, OBE (born 17 February 1956) is a British former rally driver and current owner of team and constructor M-Sport. He is the father of former World Rally Championship driver Matthew Wilson. He has been married to Elaine Wilson since 1982.

## Biography

He has over 20 years experience of rallying at world championship level, much of it with Ford. He drove for three factory teams in the world championship, including MG, in whose Group B Metro 6R4, he shared driving duties with fellow Briton, Tony Pond. He spent several years as Ford's chief test driver, developing new rally cars, including the short lived RS1700T and RS200 models.
As a driver, he won two British national titles in the late 1970s and achieved a long-held ambition by winning the British Rally Championship in 1994, all at the wheel of Ford Escorts.
He crashed during the 1980 Scottish Rally whilst chasing Hannu Mikkola and Ari Vatanen for the lead, breaking both his ankles and almost ending his career, but amazingly he recovered in time for the RAC Rally at the end of the year.
After his driving career, he went on to manage and run the Ford World Rally Team with his M-Sport operation, based at Dovenby Hall near Cockermouth in Cumbria.
Under his guidance, M-Sport (formerly Malcolm Wilson Motorsport) has become one of the world's leading rallying private teams, with a string of international titles and wins to its credit. The company employs over 170 people.
Their work culminated in 2006 when Wilson led Ford to the World Rally Championship Constructors' title for the first time in 25 years; the team repeated this achievement in 2007.
In September 2008, Wilson took part in the Colin McRae Forest Stages Rally, a round of the Scottish Rally Championship centred in Perth in Scotland. He entered the event in a VK Vodka Kick sponsored Ford Escort RS1800 with co-driver Peter Martin. He was one of a number of ex-world and British champions to take part in the event in memory of McRae, who died in 2007.
Wilson was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2009 Birthday Honours. In 2018 he was awarded with the V Class Order of the Cross of Terra Mariana for his services to Estonian motorsport, with his role in the successes of Markko Märtin and Ott Tänak cited.

## Complete WRC results

| Year | Entrant | Car | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | WDC | Points |
| 1977 | Malcolm Wilson | Ford Escort RS 2000 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | NZL | GRE | FIN | CAN | ITA | FRA | GBR 12 | | | | – | 0 |
| 1978 | Malcolm Wilson | Ford Escort RS 1800 | MON | SWE | KEN | POR | GRE | FIN | CAN | ITA | CIV | FRA | GBR Ret | | | | – | 0 |
| 1979 | Total Oil | Ford Escort RS 1800 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | GRE | NZL | FIN | CAN | ITA | FRA | GBR 15 | CIV | | | – | 0 |
| 1980 | Total Oil | Ford Escort RS 1800 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | GRE | ARG | FIN | NZL | ITA | FRA | GBR Ret | CIV | | | – | 0 |
| 1981 | Rothmans Rally Team | Ford Escort RS 1800 | MON | SWE | POR Ret | KEN | FRA | GRE Ret | ARG | BRA | FIN | ITA | CIV | GBR Ret | | | – | 0 |
| 1982 | Malcolm Wilson | Ford Escort RS 1800 | MON | SWE | POR Ret | KEN | FRA | GRE | NZL | BRA | FIN | ITA | CIV | | | | 66th | 1 |
| 1982 | Audi Sport UK | Audi Quattro | | | | | | | | | | | | GBR 10 | | | 66th | 1 |
| 1983 | British Junior Rally Team | Ford Escort RS1600i | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN | ITA | CIV | GBR 13 | | | – | 0 |
| 1984 | Top Gear | Audi Quattro A1 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN | ITA | CIV | GBR Ret | | | – | 0 |
| 1985 | Malcolm Wilson | Audi Quattro A1 | MON | SWE Ret | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN | ITA | CIV | | | | – | 0 |
| 1985 | Austin Rallying | MG Metro 6R4 | | | | | | | | | | | | GBR Ret | | | – | 0 |
| 1986 | Austin Rover World Rally Team | MG Metro 6R4 | MON Ret | SWE Ret | POR Ret | KEN | FRA Ret | GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN 10 | CIV | ITA | GBR 17 | USA | | 70th | 1 |
| 1987 | GM Dealer Sport | Opel Kadett GSI | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA | GBR Ret | | – | 0 |
| 1988 | Malcolm Wilson | Opel Kadett GSI | MON | SWE 8 | POR | KEN | FRA | | | | | | | | | | – | 0 |
| 1988 | GM Euro Sport | Vauxhall Astra GTE | | | | | | GRE Ret | USA | NZL | ARG | FIN | CIV | ITA | GBR Ret | | – | 0 |
| 1989 | Malcolm Wilson | Vauxhall Astra GTE | SWE 13 | MON | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | | | | | | | | | 18th | 19 |
| 1989 | GM Euro Sport | Vauxhall Astra GTE | | | | | | | NZL 3 | ARG | FIN | AUS 6 | ITA | CIV | | | 18th | 19 |
| 1989 | Vauxhall Dealer Sport | Vauxhall Astra GTE | | | | | | | | | | | | | GBR 10 | | 18th | 19 |
| 1990 | Q8 Team Ford | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 | MON | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN Ret | AUS | ITA Ret | CIV | GBR Ret | | | – | 0 |
| 1991 | Q8 Team Ford | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 | MON 7 | SWE | POR Ret | KEN | FRA 5 | GRE Ret | NZL | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA 10 | CIV | ESP | GBR Ret | 18th | 13 |
| 1992 | Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford Sierra RS Cosworth 4x4 | MON | SWE | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | NZL | ARG | FIN | AUS | ITA | CIV | ESP | GBR 9 | 58th | 2 |
| 1993 | Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | MON | SWE Ret | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE | ARG | NZL | | | | | | | 19th | 12 |
| 1993 | Malcolm Wilson | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | | | | | | | | | FIN Ret | AUS | ITA | ESP | | | 19th | 12 |
| 1993 | Michelin Pilot Team Ford | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | | | | | | | | | | | | | GBR 3 | | 19th | 12 |
| 1994 | Ford Motor Co Ltd | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | MON | POR | KEN | FRA | GRE 6 | ARG | NZL | FIN | | GBR Ret | | | | | 23rd | 8 |
| 1994 | Jolly Club | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | | | | | | | | | ITA 9 | | | | | | 23rd | 8 |
| 1995 | R.A.S. Ford | Ford Escort RS Cosworth | MON | SWE | POR | FRA | NZL | AUS | ESP | GBR Ret | | | | | | | – | 0 |